NEW YORK | 175 Greenwich St. | 1,079 FT | 80 FLOORS

[uaarkson]

I think the idea was for each tower to represent a different style of architecture, e.g. minimalism, modernism, post-modernism, structural expressionism, etc.

[samoen313]

Originally Posted by uaarkson

I think the idea was for each tower to represent a different style of architecture, e.g. minimalism, modernism, post-modernism, structural expressionism, etc.

That wasn't the express idea and no one of the buildings very fully represents any one style aside from corporate/international/huge-floorplate style architecture. You hire Rogers, you'll get exposed beams. Hire Maki and you get watered down Japanese minimalist sensibility. After the Libeskind/Childs fight-to-the-death, I'm pretty sure the firms were chosen for their good design track-record and inoffensive, business style. I think they all did a fine job, but there's hardly any sort of theoretical dialogue between the buildings in terms of their style. They're efficient, grand, and practical.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by samoen313

They're efficient, grand, and practical.

Being office towers, I think practical is the key here, although there was a time when Silverstein worried that the trading floors weren't large enough.

The designs have been altered a little since these renderings...







__

[NYguy]

Quote from Real Estate Weekly
http://www.rew-online.com/news/story.aspx?id=621

Silverstein swatted away suggestions that he would like to postpone the work to wait for better economic times and said that the only thing holding him back was that the Port Authority had not yet handed him the development parcels. The two towers wouldn’t fall victim to the credit crunch he said because they are to be financed from insurance proceeds at the site and Liberty Bonds.

By the time they are complete, Silverstein added, the recession will have likely passed. He predicated that by 2011, the banks will be making a “ton of money.”

“If we start the towers today, the earliest Tower Four could get done is 2012, the earliest Tower Two could get done is 2014, the earliest Tower Three could get done is 2015 or 2016,” Silverstein said. “If the world isn’t coming together by 2014, 15 or 16, forget it, go and hibernate somewhere.”

[talltowers08]

soooo he is gona try his best and keep building or is the site up S#!+ creek ?

[Duffstuff129]

Originally Posted by talltowers08

soooo he is gona try his best and keep building or is the site up S#!+ creek ?

If you read the article, it says that financing is not a problem because he got so much insurance money and he also has tons of Liberty Bonds.

I know for sure that the insurance was worth at least 2 billion dollars conservatively and that would be enough to finance one tower. Even if he accidentally burned every Liberty Bond he had, the money from the almost fully leased Tower 4, Tower 7, and Tower 1 (the first and third in the series, while not built yet are almost fully reserved by government agencies) would easily give him the money to finish Tower 3.

So to answer you directly: The site is note up shit creek at all. The whole plan will definitely got through.

[NYguy]

Basically is just a question of timing. Silverstein was giving a worst case scenario of completion dates.

[NYguy]

Quote from an article in globest.com
http://www.globest.com/news/1370_137.../177544-1.html

Panel: Credit Logjam Starts to Ease
March 18, 2009

Keynote speaker Larry Silverstein, president and CEO of Silverstein Properties Inc., sounded a positive note to conclude the forum, describing the transformation of Downtown and charting progress on the rebuilding of the World Trade Center. He noted that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s Freedom Tower has already risen 100 feet above grade, and that SPI’s three towers are either under way or ready to go--a state of readiness which called for close collaboration among the three different world-class architects designing the individual SPI towers.

Silverstein acknowledged, however, the difference between building 7 World Trade Center, which was ready to receive tenants four years after shovels went into the ground, and the more convoluted progress on the actual WTC site. How soon the SPI towers can be completed, he said, "depends on how quickly government can function."

Responding to an audience question, Silverstein said he has never considered delaying construction on WTC Towers 2 and 3 to wait for the office market to heat up again. At the present rate, they’re not likely to be completed for anywhere from five to eight years, by which time the economy will have recovered. "If the world hasn’t come back together by 2014, 2015, 2017, forget it--we should all go hibernate someplace," he quipped.

[talltowers08]

Originally Posted by NYguy

Basically is just a question of timing. Silverstein was giving a worst case scenario of completion dates.

thanks nyguy i did read what it said but i guess i just didnt understand it lol silly me

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by talltowers08

thanks nyguy i did read what it said but i guess i just didnt understand it lol silly me

Silverstein is supposed to be given full control of all the sites at the end of the month (March 31st), so by April we should have a clear idea of what all this means.

[NYguy]

Quote from the Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123758929303200145.html

Developer of 9/11 Site Seeks Aid

By ALEX FRANGOS
March 21, 2009


NEW YORK -- The rebuilding of the World Trade Center site, already hobbled by years of delays and infighting, is facing fresh problems as private developer Larry Silverstein asks the government for crucial financial assistance, according to people familiar with the matter.

The result would be that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the government entity that owns the site, would take on more of the risk of the project at a time when the agency already faces budget restraints to pursue its core transportation and infrastructure missions.

The Port Authority, eager to prevent the project from stalling, is considering helping to finance at least one of Mr. Silverstein's planned three office towers, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Silverstein is requesting financing help on at least two of the three towers. The Port Authority would require concessions from Mr. Silverstein, including possibly giving up some of upside profits should the towers succeed in the long term.

The project, meant to be a symbol of the recovery after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, has been through years of costly delays and acrimony. The plan for the 16-acre site includes five skyscrapers, a memorial, a transit hub, a shopping mall and a performing-arts center. Much of that was recently expected to open between 2011 and 2013.

Those dates are in jeopardy and at least some elements are unlikely to be finished until the later part of the next decade. The memorial is set to open by the 10th anniversary of the attacks, but even it faces budget shortfalls and is pursuing federal stimulus money.

Despite the long-term financial problems, the site has been a beehive of activity after years of delay. The Freedom Tower, owned by the Port Authority, is poking above street level. The memorial is taking shape. And Mr. Silverstein recently installed a crane to begin foundation work on the smallest of his three towers.

But if construction of the office towers doesn't proceed, the entire site could be plunged into further delays and uncertainty. The planned $3.2 billion transit hub relies on Mr. Silverstein's office towers for ventilation and fire exits. The Port Authority's $3 billion Freedom Tower would be unable to open as planned because its delivery ramps tie underground into the part of the site that Mr. Silverstein jointly controls with the Port Authority.

Mr. Silverstein declined to comment through a spokesman, but in the past said he is committed to building as quickly as possible.

A Port Authority spokeswoman said: "We are continuing to discuss with Silverstein Properties how to best meet a changed market while ensuring the World Trade Center site is rebuilt in the best public interest."

[NYguy]

Graphic from the Wall Street Journal...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123758929303200145.html

[NYguy]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/ny...1&ref=nyregion

Port Authority May Help Financing of Tower

By RAY RIVERA
March 21, 2009

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is considering giving the developer Larry A. Silverstein financial backing to help pay for one of three office towers that he is required to build at the World Trade Center site, people with knowledge of the negotiations said on Saturday.

The move is a reflection of the flailing economy and the clenching of the credit markets that has made it difficult for builders to obtain financing. But it may not be enough to satisfy Mr. Silverstein, who wants help with at least two of the three towers, the people said.

The authority, which owns the 16-acre ground zero site, has balked at that request. But hoping to push forward a project long stalled by delays and bureaucratic conflicts, it is willing to use its revenue streams essentially as a guarantee to satisfy potential lenders, easing the way for Mr. Silverstein to finance the construction of one of the towers, a government official familiar with the negotiations said. The Wall Street Journal reported on the negotiations on Saturday.

The authority is reluctant to provide assistance for more than one tower in a period when it is facing declining revenue and widening budget gaps, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the negotiations were continuing. Any help it offers Mr. Silverstein would mean that much less borrowing capacity for its own capital projects, including a new Hudson River rail tunnel.

Complicating matters is the interwoven nature of the trade center reconstruction project, parts of which cannot proceed until Mr. Silverstein’s towers are built to at least street level. The project includes a $3.2 billion transit center, an underground vehicle screening center, an 8-acre memorial plaza and museum and the $3.1 billion Freedom Tower, being built by the Port Authority. Mr. Silverstein’s towers are estimated to cost about $2 billion apiece.

Bud Perone, a spokesman for Silverstein Properties, declined on Saturday to discuss the negotiations. But in a sharply worded statement, he criticized the authority for delays in preparing sites for construction. The authority has incurred about $86 million in penalties, payable to Mr. Silverstein under a 2006 agreement, for missed deadlines in turning over sites that are fully excavated and ready to build on.

“New Yorkers have been patient enough already,” he said, “and tens of thousands of New Yorkers are counting on jobs that the rebuilding will produce.”

Stephen Sigmund, a spokesman for the Port Authority, said in an e-mail message that the agency was making progress in the development of the site, and he added that the agency would continue discussing with Mr. Silverstein how to go forward in a changing market while looking out for the public’s interest.

With the economic crisis sharply reducing demand for office space in Lower Manhattan, questions have surrounded Mr. Silverstein’s ability to finance the three towers and find tenants.

The city and the Port Authority have committed to leasing a million square feet in one of the towers. But Mr. Silverstein has had difficulty attracting commercial tenants for the other two.

[NYguy]

Here's that Calatrava hub rendering that was in the Times, enlarged a bit to give a sense of scale near Tower 3...

[NYguy]

Mayor Bloomberg awakes and adds his 2 cents...
http://www.observer.com/2009/real-es...de-center-site

Mayor Says Developer Has Little to Lose at World Trade Center Site

By Eliot Brown and Azi Paybarah
March 23, 2009

Speaking to reporters this afternoon, Mayor Bloomberg weighed in on the World Trade Center negotiations between the Port Authority and Larry Silverstein, painting the 77-year-old developer as a man with little to lose who “doesn’t really have a lot of skin in the game.” Mr. Silverstein has no equity in the World Trade Center site right now, according to people familiar with discussions.

The comments came as Mr. Silverstein has approached the Port Authority, which owns the World Trade Center site, with a plan to finance some of his three office towers at the site.

Right now, conversations seem to be limited to Port Authority director Chris Ward and Silverstein Properties. But Mayor Bloomberg will ultimately need to sign off on any major changes to a 2006 development agreement, officials have said.

More from the mayor:

What Larry did is he took out all his equity at the beginning, so he doesn’t really have a lot of skin in the game. He has an enormous amount of upside potential, which doesn’t leave the Port Authority with a lot of negotiating ability, because they’re the ones that got to put up some money. They’re the ones that, everything else stops, and get criticized … Larry’s on the other side, and for him, it’s a neutral to win situation, so I don’t envy the Port Authority.

[Nomadd22]

Can't say I know what Larry's motivation is, but he's at the point where his name could be associated with FUBAR in the encyclopedia, or next to Robert Moses.
I wouldn't discount his view of his legacy as bigger factor that profit in this venture.

[NYguy]

Larry Silverstein is the only one in the entire WTC rebuilding process that has been consitently getting things done. The only delays associated with Silverstein have come at the hands of the Port Authority and other government officials.

[Nomadd22]

Originally Posted by NYguy

Larry Silverstein is the only one in the entire WTC rebuilding process that has been consitently getting things done. The only delays associated with Silverstein have come at the hands of the Port Authority and other government officials.

Agreed. I was just refering to the unlikelyhood of his delaying the towers because of financing. I think he'll get them up if he has to sell his pog collection and bend the rebar himself.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Nomadd22

Agreed. I was just refering to the unlikelyhood of his delaying the towers because of financing. I think he'll get them up if he has to sell his pog collection and bend the rebar himself.

As it is now, he's paying rent (using rebuilding insurance money) for space that doesn't exist. That's largely being offset by the fees the Port Authority has to pay for its delays, but that ends when Silverstein gets full access to the site. That's expected to come at the end of this month.

[NYguy]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...lDI&refer=home

Port Authority Said to Seek Cash From Silverstein in WTC Deal

By David M. Levitt
March 26 (Bloomberg)


The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey demanded that developer Larry Silverstein put up cash before it gives him financial assistance to build at the World Trade Center site, a person familiar with the matter said.

Silverstein is being asked to put equity into the project after he sought agency guarantees for construction financing on two of the three towers he wants to build there, said the person, who asked not to be named. Negotiations are ongoing.

The dispute threatens to stall redevelopment of Ground Zero just when the project is moving forward. Steel for the Freedom Tower, which is among four skyscrapers planned for the site of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, is rising above the sidewalk. The authority’s request may be difficult for Silverstein to fulfill since credit is scarce, said Stephen Blank, principal researcher for the Urban Land Institute in Washington.

“Substantially everyone has the same refinancing problem coming up in the next couple of years,” said Blank. “People are guarding liquidity in every way they can. That does not say that if Larry’s team goes to his traditional sources, he can’t get the deal done. It’s just a more difficult environment.”

Silverstein spokesman Dara McQuillan declined to comment. Silverstein and the authority are in talks over the agency’s inability to make the Trade Center site ready for construction, another spokesman, Bud Perrone, said in a statement.

‘Private’ Talks

Port Authority spokeswoman Candace McAdams declined to comment. Authority Director Christopher Ward said today the agency is in private negotiations with Silverstein on how “to shape the site to meet the market, and deliver the necessary infrastructure and office space.”

Asked if there is a limit to the authority’s capacity to financially assist Silverstein, Chairman Anthony Coscia said: “Yes.”

“The Port Authority is not recession-proof,” Ward said. “Mr. Silverstein understands that and respects that, and will strike a bargain to bring on the site as the market sees fit.”

Silverstein and his partners are responsible under a 2006 agreement with the authority to build three towers for about $6 billion. The agency, owner of the 16-acre Trade Center site, is building and financing the 1,776-foot, $3.1 billion Freedom Tower.

Financing Guarantee

Silverstein asked the authority to guarantee his financing to limit his need to tap commercial lenders.

The authority has agreed to spend $8.4 billion on trade center projects, out of a total $29.5 billion 10-year capital budget, and is reluctant to spend more.

The agency has committed $2.6 billion to an $8.7 billion rail tunnel across the Hudson River, which could double commuter rail capacity from New Jersey and New York. It has also been asked to take over the Moynihan Station rail terminal project.

Backing Silverstein would require more than just a promise to pay. The authority would have to set aside the money to cover bonds that are issued, the person said.

Silverstein pays the agency $79 million a year from a $4.5 billion insurance settlement from the terrorist attacks. He and his partners, including New York real estate investor Lloyd Goldman, received $98 million from the insurance, leaving them with almost no equity in the three-skyscraper project.